Fallout Equestria: Close Call
by ZIATduo
Summary: All of his life, Close Call has only ever known the grey, steel walls of Stable 81. That is, until an alternate path is laid out for him: an enigmatic research expedition into the outside world to learn just what has happened to everypony else. What he'll find, he does not know. Civilization? Death? War? There is only one way to be certain, and Close Call may find there are more qu


Close Call

By Z.I.A.T.

An Adventure Based in the World of Kkat's Fallout: Equestria

CHAPTER 1: HOME

"_Quidem, O iudices? Quid est quod in hoc tam exiguo vitae curriculo et tam brevi tantis nos in laboribus exerceamus?_"

There's something to be said about stagnation. That something is that stagnation sucks. There is no more rush, no more drive, no more life. Just plodding day after day, month after month, year after year, century after century. No amount of stirring renditions of famous battles on the blank, grey walls can inspire us anymore. There are no more speeches, no more rallies in the atrium. There is only the droll routine. We're born, we live, we die. Wash, rinse, repeat.

But, I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. Once upon a time, there was this magical land known as Equestria. It was ruled by two princesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Then Princess Luna got all pissy, Celestia banished her or something, then Luna came back…I have no idea, it isn't important. Either way, these two-one, then two, then-ah, fuck it, I'm rambling here. These princesses ruled Equestria for longer than anyone can remember. The sun shone every day, everything was bright and colorful and cheery, and it was just a grand old time. Then the Zebras attacked. Or the Ponies attacked the Zebra. God, this is making my head hurt. There is a point to all of this, I swear, just stick with it.

Over the course of the war, both sides advanced technologically at rates previously unimagined. Of course, most of these technologies were war effort-numerus unus being the megaspell. The megaspell was just that: a very powerful spell with limitless capabilities. The first one apparently brought an entire battlefield back from the dead. Well, of course, there were worries of megaspells being weaponized. That worry prompted the construction of Stables: (mostly) underground, blast-and-radiation proof shelters for which the good citizens of Equestria could protect themselves in case of the worst. Stable 81 was no different. At least, it wasn't supposed to be. 81 was populated and sealed almost as soon as it was completed, and remained so for over two centuries, until an enterprising young pony opened the door. Told you there was a point to this! Now, "Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that pony skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end, after he turned in the cave, and realized his life was but a shadow on the wall."

You can always tell what sort of day it's going to be by how it begins. So when my day began with my sister landing with all the grace and civility of a mortar shell upon my face, I knew it was going to be a good one.

"Wake up, Close! Wake up wake up wake up!" the little pony shrieked, bouncing up and down on what had been my unconscious form. "You know, Parum, that if this isn't important, I'm likely to murder you." I muttered groggily, opening my eyes nonetheless to greet the lime green pony with matching mane that was my little sister. She was about half my size, with twice my energy, and she was obviously quite happy about something. What it could be, I had no idea; her birthday wasn't for another month. The clouds of my confusion were soon dissipated, however, when she turned, still smiling, to show me her flank.

"You got your cutie mark!" And lo and behold, upon my sister's previously blank flank were two crossed spears behind a front-facing zebra head. "Yep! I'm the first in my class!" she proudly proclaimed, still grinning from ear to ear. Her tone suddenly became stern, her eyes narrowing. "Anyhow, you'd better be there at my cuteceañera! No excuses! I don't care how hard you're studying! Understand?" I nodded wordlessly, eyes wide. Satisfied, she hopped off, probably to tell our parents and the rest of the stable the same thing. Demanding little filly. Of course we'd all attend, though-anything to break away from the monotony. Hardly a reason to throw parties anymore otherwise.

I rolled over, turning on my light in an effort to beat back the return of pleasant unconsciousness, looking at the one other object on my nightstand: a framed photograph of my family. In it were four ponies- my mother, Afflata, holding my then baby sister Parum Sororem; my father, Admiratus, standing next to her; and me, Close Call. Now, there are a few things you may notice here. For one, my parents and sister are varying shades of green, while I myself am mustard. That's minor, though, compared to the next thing-they're unicorns, and I am an Earth Pony. Stop, don't ask me how, apparently it happens. Of course, there's also my name. Don't worry; I'll get to that in a second.

"Hey mom, hey dad. I assume you've heard the news?" I asked, stepping into the main room of our living quarters. I assume they'd had, by the looks of obvious yet exhausted joy. My mother's joy soon turned to scorn, however. "Close Call, you try that again, only properly this time."

I sighed, and began again, both my smile and a chunk of my good mood gone. "Salvete, mater et patris, audita audistis?" I said, as if reciting rote from a textbook, which I essentially was. "Immo, vobis gratias. Yes, thank you." She answered, nodding. "Honestly, Close, you'd think after having your cutie mark for so long, you'd greet us properly." I just sighed and began the long walk to the showers, and then to my lab.

Stable 81 was a research stable. Our job was to explore every facet of zebra culture for the war effort. Language, government, art, customs, fighting styles, eating habits…we were supposed to be able to be so proficient, when we finally did get out of here you could throw stripes on everypony and no one would be the wiser. My role as a linguist was to excel in the language facet of zebra culture, which according to the Deduc Indagator, or Lead Researcher, meant that I was to not only be fluent in Zebra, but also speak it at every possible moment. My sister, Parum, would most likely go into combat training now that she'd earned her cutie mark. I'd tried it a few times during school, really got a hang of some of the styles, but once my torch appeared on my butt my fate had been sealed. So while my parents didn't force me to speak it at all times, Mom at least asked that my first and last words of the day to her were in Zebra. Fair enough, I guess.

"Anything new?" I asked my colleague and close friend, Insusurro. It was an old habit; almost tradition at this point. When the stable had been sealed, it was to provide us a safe, private environment in which to work. Information was given to us via a secure radio channel, and apparently the occasional sample was even brought in. Then, around two hundred years ago, all information stopped. We have no idea why, and considering we were under the strictest orders (Royal Commands carry a bit of weight, who knew?), no one even thought to poke a head out and see what happened. So for the past two centuries, we as a stable have been pouring over the same information, looking for anything we may have missed, any hidden meanings or ideas. We had at our disposal the entirety of Equestria's knowledge of the Zebra lands.

Equestria's knowledge of the Zebra lands was, to be blunt, fucking massive. We hadn't missed much.

"By Luna's grace, Close, do you have something against Zebra?" Insusurro asked, shaking his head slowly, "I mean, aren't we supposed to be 'semper uallo'? 'Always entrenched'?" He was kidding, of course. It wasn't that we hated speaking Zebra or anything; it was mostly that when we spent all day working with it, studying it, it was nice to get a break. "Nope," He continued, "Nothing new, per usual. Though there is something here that's been bothering me for quite some time now…" he continued, peering down his glasses at the sheet of paper in front of him. I grabbed my own glasses from another table in the room and stepped toward him. "What's up?"

"Nope, there just isn't any explanation for it." He said with a tone of finality that shocked me, covering the paper with his hooves and sighing heavily. "What!? What is it?" I exclaimed, rushing forward. Even if it wasn't something new, it was something different, and anything different was exciting! Perhaps a mistranslation? Ooh, this was turning out to be a good day!

"There simply is no explanation for a stable full of Zebra-obsessed ponies for have someone named Close Call." Dick. "Dick." I said simply, chuckling all the same. It was certainly odd, at least for this day and age. Insusurro was right about one thing; Stable 81 was to be "semper uallo"-"always entrenched", which, as previously mentioned, means we were to completely immerse ourselves in everything Zebra. While I'm sure the first couple generations of ponies had, well, normal names, but as time wore on, eventually everyone in the Stable had an ethnically Zebra name. Everyone, that is, except me. Someone had once told me I was the first pony in seventy-five years to not have such a moniker, couldn't remember who though. Probably unimportant. Shrugging off the thought, I moved to my desk and began to read.

The job of a linguist was divided into two parts: learning and using. There were two of us in the stable, and as soon as someone else got their cutie mark, we'd have an apprentice. Said apprentice would spend at least four years learning the language, and then the rest of their adult life reading every scrap of literature we had. Joy. Anyhow, when a pony reached the second stage, they got a desk. Fine Equestria steel imported straight from Fillydelphia, done in a brilliantly dull grey finish. It even had drawers! The best part though, the part I had been waiting for since I began my studies…a nametag. Yep, on the front of my desk, there was a little stand, and written upon that stand, in beautiful brushed steel:

Close Call

Researcher, Linguistic and Literary Studies

Insusurro had one too, but mine was prettier, dammit. Like I've said, there wasn't much to look forward to in Stable 81, so I took whatever chance at excitement I could get. Speaking of…"My sister got her cutie mark today." I said offhandedly, queuing up my notes from the previous day on my PipBuck. The tiny, hoof-mounted computer was issued to every pony upon receipt of their cutie mark, and apparently could do a plethora of things. There was a mapping feature, for those times you got lost in an underground shelter which the only way out was the front door; an inventory sorter, for all the crap I didn't have; E.F.S., or Eyes-Forward-Sparkle, a spell which told me when there were others around me, and whether they were friendly or not; S.A.T.S., or Stable-Tec-Assisted-Targeting-Spell, for pretty much the firing range and nothing else, a broadcaster/radio so I could listen to the news and music in the stable; and finally, a nearly infinite amount of storage space. About half of which was consumed by every note, translation, and funny email I'd ever taken, translated, and received. In short, I had a lot of information on that little hunk of metal and magic on my hoof.

"Sweet. That means a party tonight, right?" My associate replied, his tired expression lighting up almost instantly. "Of course, why wouldn't there be?" I asked, confused. "Dunno, trying to make small talk. Normally you just sit there, reading silently and sometimes muttering to yourself. If I hadn't known you since we were foals, I'd assume you were planning on widespread murder." My friend replied nonchalantly, the ghost of a grin spreading across his features. He started again before I could argue, "Here, Special Operations requested this translation a month ago, one of the last things to come in before the Great Silence, apparently. Could you take it back to them and tell them it's as pointless now as it was two hundred years ago? I don't even think it's Zebra." He gestured toward a yellowed scrap of paper sitting atop a stack of slightly less-yellowed papers. I shrugged, taking the paper carefully in my mouth before heading out.

Special Operations' objective was to "process and assess immediate threats or possible actions against Equestria", or something like that. In essence, I dealt with old Zebra crap, and they dealt with new Zebra crap. Well, new when our stable was sealed, so I guess at this point, slightly less old Zebra crap? All their stuff was supposed to be super-top-secret though, even though they would call upon us with regularity to translate this or that. They'd never sent us anything we couldn't handle though, and it was odd for Insusurro to not even ask for my input before kicking it back to them. Very odd indeed.

I stopped, setting the paper on the ground and examining it more closely. The paper was yellowed and aged, like many of the primary sources we handled, but something was…off. The note felt too crisp in my mouth, the lettering too…sharp around the edges. This had been printed recently. And the note itself, now that I took the time to read it, was an oddity in and of itself:

NNAPC RHMMN CSHCY GSTFM SBMAW FNKAV APOPH LFQYM URGGS

Insusurro was right-this was gibberish. Pointless gibberish; so pointless I copied the text to my PipBuck before moving on.

Special Operations had a much larger office than mine, and many more ponies, all working busily at…hell; I wasn't even going to guess at what they were doing. They did their job, I did mine, and that was it. That was it for the entire stable, really. Outside of your family and immediate coworkers, there wasn't much mingling. Sure, everyone would be getting together tonight for the cuteceañera, but even then they'd hang around in cliques of departments. It just how things were in 81. "Can we help you?" a beige mare asked curtly. "Parua: Special Operations" the steel upon her desk informed me. I cleared my throat, setting the paper upon her desk before responding, "Et mandatum est, ut tibi amicae." She nodded, with another curt "Thank you." Before taking the message and bringing it further into the office. That was my cue to leave, and I took it, happy to be out of there. Those ponies creeped me out something serious.

"Clearly the largest object is the ruler; look at all the things they carry!" Says one pony.

"No, you imbecile, those are the slaves! They are forced to carry such things by the smaller ones!" Says another angrily.

I don't know what to think. My feet are chained to the floor of a cave, my head held in place by a magic spell. I can see nothing but the shadows on the wall, it has been this way for as long as I can remember; I know no other way. I know not what creates the shadows, and I can only guess as to what they actually are.

I awoke with a start, breathing heavily. I don't know why; that dream was fairly regular, and not really scary…weird, yes, but definitely not a nightmare. Blinking, trying the second time that day to shake off my grogginess, I took a look at the time on my PipBuck, and suddenly I was very awake. Now I knew I why I was breathing heavily: it was a subconscious reaction to the time. Parum's cuteceañera was scheduled for 1900 hours. It was now 1920.

I was twenty minutes late to one of the biggest days in my very martially skilled sister's life.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I panicked, stumbling away from my desk and out the door towards the atrium. She was going to kill me. She was going to dice me up, grill my remains, burn them to ash, and piss on the ashes. My parents I weren't afraid of; the most I'd get from Mom and Dad would be disappointment. That little filly, however…I'd seen her work in the practice arena. It wouldn't be pretty.

"I'm…here…" I gasped as I entered. I didn't even have a chance before a lime green filly rocketed into my side, knocking me to the ground despite her small size. "Stolide!" she shouted, repeating it over and over again punctuating each exclamation with a blow, "Stolide! Stolide! Stolide! You're late, Close!" I put my hooves up, trying my best to defend myself. I may have been decent at hoof-to-hoof combat, but this filly was a monster! "I'm here! I'm here though!" I explained, and this seemed to mollify her. "I'm still mad at you." She said smiling, however, as she climbed off of me. Looks like I'd managed to salvage a bit of the night, at least. Insusurro helped me up, wearing his on shit-eating grin. "I would have woken you, but you just looked so peaceful, I couldn't help but leave you be." I just shook my head, and accepted the recycled, vaguely-fruit-tasting punch he offered, looking around. The atrium could fit the entire stable if need be, and by the looks of it, nearly everyone was here. Hell, even the Lead Researcher-holy horseapples! Deduc Indagator was here! She hardly ever came out of her office, hadn't even shown up for my own cuteceañera, and she was here! This is the first time I'd ever seen her, and…damn.

Deduc Indagator's coat was jet black, her mane and tail a blood red. Her cutie mark was a tad confusing: it looked like a white sun rising over a tower or pedestal of some sort. She was…beautiful. The most beautiful pony I'd ever seen. Deduc Indagator wasn't her real name; she'd shed her name upon accepting the position. I wondered what it had been. Her horn glowed as she levitated her drink to her lips, smiling and laughing with the directors of the other departments. "Your turn, hot stuff." Insusurro whispered, and I looked at him with a mix of anger and fear. He just smiled, and nodded toward the gathering. See, while the other departments were, you know, full of ponies, it was just us two in linguistics. So we took turns being department head when it came time that one was actually needed. This was one of those times, and as my friend has just said, apparently it was my turn. The only problem was that I…didn't really get along with people too well. Sure, there was Insusurro, Mom, Dad, and especially Parum; but everyone else was on a need-to-talk basis. I'm sure they were good ponies, but I just didn't mingle well. I turned, was going to tell him to do it instead, but he was gone. Of course. I gulped, and stepped forward toward the small gathering.

"Uhm, e-excuse me…" I muttered, smothered by the sudden drop in conversation and their stares. Only Deduc looked at me with an expression other than confusion. She looked as though she'd been waiting for me, not just tonight, but her entire life. "Close Call, isn't it?" she asked, "An odd name in here. It's…exotic. I'm glad you could join us."

"Paenitet enim me mora, paenitet me quod tibi exspectant." I apologized, bowing my head in greeting. When I looked back up, I couldn't help but smile internally at their continued bafflement. Everyone in Stable 81 had a passing knowledge of Zebra. Few could speak it well. Only two of us were fluent. "Quia non eventu. It is of no issue. And please, Pony will suit just fine for tonight. It is a special occasion, after all." Deduc brushed it off warmly. Now it was my turn to be confused. Apparently there were three of us who could speak Zebra fluently. I probably should have expected it, her being the Lead Researcher and everything. I just cleared my throat, embarrassed, and she continued. "I believe congratulations are in order for your sister, Mr. Call. I'm sure little Parum Sororem will have much to offer us and our studies of the Zebra. Now, I have called you all here for a…discussion. Nothing formal, just wanted to shoot some ideas off of you all." Off the books, she meant. That's why we were standing here at my sister's party instead of meeting in the conference room reserved for such gatherings. I couldn't help but wonder what all this was about-Deduc had never before called a meeting of the department heads for any reason, not since…well, not since before the Great Silence. She waited for it to sink in before continuing. "As you all know, we were commissioned for the war effort; locked away in order to avoid distraction and to provide whatever insight we could to the Zebra threat. However, as you all know, we stopped receiving information two hundred years ago, but Royal Command prevents us from seeing what happened. There has been quite a bit of talk about defying this command and going outside.

"After considering the matter at length, I have decided to assemble an expedition."

There were audible gasps among those gathered-I even choked on my drink. Going outside?! I don't know who had been talking about it, but it certainly hadn't been me! It's not like I was afraid or anything…I mean, they'd put us here for a reason, right? They'd sealed the stable a month after that for a reason, right? Perhaps there was a broadcaster broken or something, maybe that's why we hadn't heard anything. They should be sending maintenance, not a research team. And even if we went out there, what did she think we'd find? Was the war still going on? Was the war over? Had they merely forgotten about us? Maybe the Zebras had done the unthinkable and actually destroyed the word? Nah, that was truly impossible. Even the Zebras wouldn't be that stupid.

I didn't have to say anything, though; my associates were doing that for me, angrily trying to voice their own concerns as quietly as possible. Deduc silenced them with a raised hoof, smile still on her face. Such a pretty smile… "Please, ladies and gentlecolts, please. I understand your reservations; believe me, I do. But if we are to move forward with our research, one way or another, we need new information. However, perhaps I was hasty in my decision making. Perhaps if…one pony were to venture outside. He or she could assess the situation, and then come back to let us know whether the rest of us can follow."

This seemed to sit better with the heads, but not me. I soon found out why when Deduc Indagator looked straight at me with those big grey eyes of hers. She didn't have to say anything more, I knew I had been selected, probably before she'd even come down to the atrium that night. Hell, probably before she'd even woken up that morning. I didn't even bother with feigned confusion. "Why me?" I asked. "Think about it, Mr. Call. You are the only one of us with an ethnically Pony name. Even if the war is over and we have won, there could still be quite a bit of…animosity. We'd be arrested as Zebra sympathizers as soon as we introduced ourselves. It can only be you." She said, smiling and winking. A wink! Deduc Indagator, Lead Researcher of Stable 81, actually winked at me! I stammered again, looking down to hide the sudden rush of red that now adorned my cheeks. "Th-there has to be another reason. It…it just doesn't make any sense, Lead Researcher. My name can't be the only reason you want to send me out there."

This definitely wasn't winning me any favors from the other heads; while far from an air of omnipotence, there was a line when it came to how one spoke to the leader of the stable, and I had apparently crossed said line, multiple times. "Nope, that's the only reason!" she replied brightly. "Enjoy the party, ponies. Close Call, you will report to the entrance in three days' time." Without waiting for a response, she turned and departed. Her smile still lingered in my mind.

I awoke three days later with heart heavy with emotion, and muscles heavy with exertion. For the past three days I had been receiving training to help me with whatever I may encounter on the outside. I found it disheartening that so much of it was centered on strength and combat training. "Hope for the best; prepare for the worst" seemed to be the dominant philosophy of my instructors. There was basic survival training, just in case, which I was mediocre with; firearm training, which I…well, let's just say the stable can rest easy knowing we weren't practicing around anything vital, and leave it at that; as well as hoof-to-hoof combat. Taught by my sister. I turned out to be much better at this training than the others; I just wasn't as good as dear Parum Sororem. Ow, my sides. And legs. You could always tell what sort of a day it was going to be by how it started-if right now was any indication, today was going to be filled with pain.

I showered, and ate silently with my family. Parum was crying, Mom and Dad merely resigned. No one thought that death awaited me outside; we were sure I'd go outside, perhaps mingle a bit, and come back to let everyone know we could come out and rejoin society. I just had to keep telling myself that. I had to take my mind off of the fact that I could very well die out there-or at least try to hide these thoughts from those I loved. After breakfast, it was time to go. I made my way to the entrance, trying to contain an odd sense of excitement. Sure, there was the possibility of my imminent death, but more than that, there was the guarantee of something new! Even if nothing but a barren wasteland, it was something new! Something new to study, something new to explore! No more centuries-old texts I had poured over again and again and again! By the time I reached my destination, it took physical effort not to skip in anticipation. Nothing could hide my smile, though, as I approached the small group gathered there. Seeing me off were of course Mom, Dad, and Parum, but there were also the department heads, as well as that jet black beauty-erm, I mean, Deduc Indagator. She must have given an order for the rest of the stable to stay away; I'm sure they were nearly frothing at the mouth to even get a glimpse of the outside. I know I certainly was.

"Are you ready, Close Call?" she asked me, to which I nodded. Mom levitated my saddlebags and canteens onto my back. They were filled with about a week's worth of preserves, as well as some money, and…ugh…ammunition for the small pistol at my side. It wasn't anything fancy; just a small Zebra model that the Warfare Department used in their studies. I still didn't like it though-it just felt alien to me. "You know your mission?" Deduc asked me softly. "Yes." I nodded, "Go outside, make contact with civilization, learn what I can about the state of Equestria, and come back." Simple enough, right? Deduc just flashed that smile of hers again, and nodded to the mare at the door controls. "In that case, good luck, Close Call. May your mind be open, and your spirit light." With those final words, I gave my parents and sister a hug, and stepped forward towards the massive gear which served as our primary barrier to the outside world. Switch Mare pressed a button, and an arm slowly descended from the ceiling before attaching itself to the door. There was a great screeching noise as the gear was pulled away from its home. It sounded like a scream.

There were no more words to be spoken. All eyes were on me, and my eyes were locked onto the tunnel which had been hewn out of the very earth itself. The darkness was penetrating, and for a moment, I wanted to turn around, tell them I couldn't do it, that they'd have to send someone else. But I didn't; no matter what Deduc Indagator said her reasoning was, no matter what unease I felt at the situation as a whole…I wanted this. I wanted this, and had wanted it for a while now. So, with a final look back and a smile, I stepped from the only home I had ever known.

I stepped into the darkness, and as my stable sealed itself behind me, I was engulfed by it. I stepped again, and stopped as something cracked underneath me. Slowly, very slowly, I reached over and flicked on my PipBuck light, and looked to the ground.

Bones.

Skeletons, all clustered around the entrance to the stable. Equine faces frozen in eternal smiles-or eternal screams. The ones nearest to the door had shattered hooves. It was almost as if they'd…almost as if they'd broken themselves trying to get in. But why? We were just a bunch of researchers, what would have been so important that these ponies had died trying to get in? Had they been running from something? So many questions, and I was barely five feet from the front door.

I turned again, facing forward once more, and flicked off my lamp. I could see a light up ahead, most likely the entrance to this tunnel. I trotted towards it, trying my best to ignore the crunching beneath my hooves. The light grew larger and larger, eventually forming a rectangular outline-a door. I looked back into the darkness, took a deep breath of that odd, dry air, adjusted my glasses, and opened the door.

Sweet Celestia and Luna save me, my fucking eyes!

"Expedition Log, entry one: Sweet Celestia, it's bright out here!" I almost shouted, blinking a few times. Gradually my vision cleared, my eyes adjusting to the outside. My eyes, perhaps, but not my mind. Before me stretched…wasteland. A great wasteland as far as the eye could see. Sick and dying-looking…trees, they must have been, crawled out of the ground, looking like the claw of some great skeletal beast grasping for purchase before falling into the very pits of Hell itself. Like they were reaching up, up into that…whoa. That was a high ceiling. A very, very high ceiling. I sat down hard, wanting to tear my gaze from that great maw above me, but unable to look away. That morning's breakfast came right up, finally causing me to shift my stare back to the welcome, if broken, ground. I took a few deep breaths, a drink from my canteen, and tried looking back up. Not all the way, mind you, but about halfway there. That was better. I heard a chime come from my PipBuck-the location "Stable 81" had been marked on my map. How it knew where I was, I myself neither knew nor cared. What I did care about was my new friend.

A brown unicorn mare stood in front of me, smiling. Both her coat and her mane were ragged and filthy, as if she hadn't washed in months, at least. I couldn't see her cutie mark, but I could see the wooden plank floating beside her. "About damn time she sent one of you out here." She said simply, her voice rough. There was a slight whoosh of magical energy, and I was engulfed by darkness once more.

Level up!

Perk Acquired: Educated-You've either learned from your mistakes, or have entirely too much time on your hands. +3 extra points per skill level

**Author's Note:**

Well, there it is, the very first chapter of Fallout: Equestria-Close Call! There are many people to thank, especially Kkat for creating this wonderful world in which we may explore new possibilities! I'd also like to thank Somber, No One, and everyone else who has ever written a story based in a post-apocalyptic Equestria! I may not have read all of your stories, but you are all an inspiration to me! I'd also like to thank my friends whom I showed this to beforehand for their input, and finally, I want to thank you, the reader, for, well, reading this! I understand it is far from perfect, and I am open to criticism at all times! Try to be constructive though, please! Second chapter coming soon!

Disclaimer: Anything Fallout related is owned by Bethesda Softworks, and anything My Little Pony related is owned by Hasbro. I think. Please don't sue me.


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